This vacation was supposed to be her first real one in years, and here she was, searching for things she couldn’t even name in order to save some alien’s life—an alien who made her feel more human than she had in years.
Funny how life turned out.
“There’s a bowl of soup in the microwave,” she told him to get him to release her.
As much as she enjoyed having his hands on her, the way they made her feel was nearly too much to handle. Her body was overheated, her blood pumping through her too fast. Heat radiated out from her skin, and a line of sweat formed along her brow.
He set her on the couch and stood, towering over her. His glower was a clear warning to stay put—one her spinning head intended to heed. The last thing she needed was to fall and knock herself unconscious. The sooner she found the things Toren needed to leave, the better.
As he walked away, she couldn’t help but stare. His body was the stuff of daydreams. Clad only in those too-small shorts, she could easily see the way his muscles shifted as he moved. She could watch a sight like that all day and never get bored.
Too bad he wasn’t human. A little R&R with a man like him could do wonders for a woman. But he wasn’t human, and she had no idea if he was even capable of the things going through her head—wicked, shamefully delightful things that made a blush burn in her cheeks.
He came back with an apple and the crooked knife. Her eyes lowered to his groin, and from what she could tell, he had all the right parts.
A low growl seeped from his chest, forcing her eyes upward. Heat suffused her face, and she knew she had to be glowing with embarrassment.
Adria cleared her throat and forced herself to concentrate on his face. “You have no idea what a microwave is, do you?”
“None.”
“It’s our own kind of magic that heats foods in seconds.”
“Magic cannot exist here—at least not for long. Your world eats it.”
“Our magic is called technology, and it works great.”
He didn’t even try to hide his skepticism. “I doubt that.”
She held out her hand for the apple.
“You are shaking and will slice yourself open. I will feed you.”
“Yeah, that’s really not necessary.”
He ignored that and sat next to her, cutting small pieces of the fruit for her to eat. She drew the line at letting him feed her, but took what he offered.
His brows were lowered in concentration as he worked. The knife seemed tiny in his hands, and he moved as though he wasn’t used to using such small utensils.
Firelight flickered off his rough features, and she swore she saw hints of deep purple glowing in his black hair as it swayed around his shoulders.
He handed her another bite of apple, then watched her mouth as she ate it. All this male attention was making her a bit self-conscious, but his expression was not one of curiosity, but of hot, intense interest. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn that he wanted her.
Adria had to stop staring, so she moved her gaze to the fire. “So, what now?” she asked. “How do I find the other things you need?”
“I don’t know. Your mind is different from mine. Predicting how it will function seems beyond my ability.”
“So I just sit around and wait for another brain blast?”
“Is it really so unpleasant? I do not wish you pain.”
“It’s not painful, really. Just incredibly… aggressive.”
“Aggressive brain blast. That sounds like pain to me.” He stood in a rush, his intent to leave plain.
“Where are you going?”
“I will find another human to aid me.”
“Are you serious? You’re just going to walk out in the middle of the night in this freezing weather and go find someone else? Do you have any idea how isolated we are? We’re miles from the nearest… anything.”
“How far is miles?”
“A long way. Too long for you to walk in one night. Especially in those shorts.”
“I will use my power to run fast.”
“And just how much power do you have left before my world eats it, as you so eloquently put it?”
He stood in silence, his jaw tight, his posture defiant and rigid.
“Sit down, Toren. I’m happy to help you. Really. It wasn’t all that bad. Besides, what makes you think that another human would have it any easier than I do?”
“I will care less what happens to another human.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, that was his way of saying that he cared about her. “You don’t even know me.”
“I touched your thoughts. I… felt you. I won’t make that mistake with another.”
She wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to say, but him feeling her seemed to be a big deal to him. Maybe that was taboo in his culture or something. Hell, for all she knew it meant they were married. That idea should have bothered her a lot more than it did.
“Fine. If it bothers you so much, then there will be no more touching or feeling.”
His gaze slid down the length of her body and back up again. He licked his lips, and his irises shifted from blue to red to dark purple. “I do not know if I have that much control.”
Oh, yeah. He was definitely into her. There was no mistaking that expression, no matter how long it had been since she’d seen a man look at her like that.
Her body warmed, and something deep inside her abdomen—right under where his hand had been—clenched hard.
Adria had thought that feelings like this were lost to her. She hadn’t wanted a man since William. She was unwilling to lose someone else she loved, so why take even one step on that path? What was the point?
But now, watching him stare at her like he was starving for a taste, she realized what she’d been missing. People had sex every day with people they didn’t really know. She’d never done that before, but maybe it was time to give it a shot. For her it had always been about love, but it didn’t have to be, did it? It didn’t have to be about permanence or a future together. It could simply be about feeling good—something she hadn’t done in a long time.
With Toren, she didn’t have to feel guilty or worry that he’d develop false expectations. He was leaving. He wouldn’t be around long enough for her to really learn to care for him. It was temporary. Fleeting. Safe.
But not meaningless. To her, feeling this again—feeling alive again—had more meaning than he would ever know.
Deep, aching want unfurled inside of her, giving her courage she never would have otherwise had. For all she knew, he’d be gone in a few hours. She wasn’t going to waste her one chance for a guilt-free fling.
“Are you married?” she asked.
“No.”
“Seeing someone?”
“I see you, Adreeahbenwah.” The way he said it, the way he looked at her as if she were the only thing that mattered, made her toes curl and her heart beat a little faster.
“I mean is there another woman in your life? Someone back home who would be upset with you for the way you’re looking at me now?”
“There is no one.” A dark smile drew her attention to his mouth. The indentation in his upper lips was deep, accentuating its fullness.
The need to run her finger along that dent and feel if his mouth was softer than the rest of him sent an itchy restlessness speeding through her.
Her insides trembled. She hadn’t yet done anything she couldn’t take back. A bit of teasing, a whole pile of lust, but nothing irrevocable.
Adria so desperately wanted to do something irrevocable with Toren.
His gaze had not left her while she warred with indecision. “And how is it that I look at you, Adreeahbenwah?”
She loved the way he said her name, like it was all one word—the way he lingered over each syllable as if enjoying the feel of it against his tongue.
“You look at me as if the rest of the world could fall away and you wouldn’t notice.”
“That sounds like a dangerous way to feel,” he said, but he didn’t deny it.
“It’s certainly a dangerous way to look at me.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you’re making me consider things I should not be considering.”
He lifted a dark brow. “I would like to hear these things.”
Maybe, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to say them. He made her quiver inside. He stole her breath. She wasn’t going to give him the added ammunition of her fantasies.
“I think that’s a bad idea,” she told him.
He loomed over her. She needed to stand and close the distance, but she worried that her traitorous knees would buckle. If they did and she ended up in his arms again, she knew how this would end. She’d take what she so desperately wanted—what he seemed willing to give—and nothing else would ever be the same again.
Was that such a bad thing? Was her life really such a pile of roses and sunshine that a change—nearly any change—wouldn’t be an improvement?
Not even close.
Before Adria could change her mind, she surged to her feet and launched herself at him. He caught her easily, not even swaying as her body met his. She had no idea what would happen next, or how he would react, but that merely added another layer of excitement.
She kissed him, and for a moment, his hesitation gave her pause. Did his kind kiss? Did it mean something different to him than it did to her?
With a low sound of surrender, Toren kissed her back, and all those questions hovering in her mind were washed away by the sheer force of his enthusiasm.
One hand cupped her bottom, lifting her higher to reach just the right angle. He tilted his head and his lips parted to let in a deep breath. Adria took advantage of the opportunity and slipped the tip of her tongue along the inside of his upper lip, right where the firm, hot skin of his lips met the soft, wet contours of his mouth.
Whether he’d never kissed before, or simply hadn’t kissed like this, she wasn’t sure, but what she did know was that his reaction was immediate and almost violent in its haste.
He bore her down to the couch, his heavy body pressing her into the soft cushions. The air whooshed from her lungs, and an electric thrill raced along her nerves. Every inch of her tingled. She felt like she’d been asleep for years and was just now waking again, shrugging off the foggy cobwebs of fatigue. The world seemed brighter. Colors were more vivid. Her skin was more sensitive, allowing her to feel every single strand of his hair caressing her cheeks and neck.
Toren kissed her deeper, his tongue greedy as if needing to taste more of her. His fingers tugged at her sweater like he was seeking a way to open it. She tried to tell him how to pull it over her head, but there wasn’t enough oxygen in her brain for something as complicated as speech, and he didn’t allow enough room between them for her to remove the sweater herself.
His mouth moved to her neck, and his tongue did something against her skin that made her vision blur with sensory overload. Her whole world lit up with pleasure and yet she still needed more. The empty ache inside of her demanded to be filled.
She slid her hands down his back, following the ridges of muscles flanking his spine to where they descended below his shorts. The smooth, hot skin of his ass filled her palms. At her touch, his h*ps surged against her. Her legs were wrapped around him, leaving her open to the hard bulge of his erection as it rubbed against her jeans.